Business Registers in South Dakota: Secretary of State

Overview

South Dakota business registration runs through the Secretary of State (SOS), specifically its Business Services Division, which keeps the official record of entities formed or registered to do business in the state. Filings and searches go through the SOS online portal at sosenterprise.sd.gov.

South Dakota ties its recurring filing to each entity's anniversary. Corporations, LLCs, and nonprofits all file an annual report, due by the first day of the entity's anniversary month each year. So an entity formed in March files by March 1, every year. Limited partnerships and business trusts are the exception: they file no annual report at all, so their public record is not refreshed on a yearly cycle, which is worth weighing when judging how current their details are.

South Dakota is a low-tax state, with no corporate or personal income tax, which is part of why holding companies and out-of-state owners register there. That status shapes the tax picture rather than the register itself, since the SOS annual report is a registration filing rather than a tax return.

South Dakota has no state-level beneficial ownership register. At the federal level, the Corporate Transparency Act (2021) created a BOI registry run by FinCEN, but a March 2025 interim final rule lifted the obligation for all U.S. companies and U.S. persons. Only foreign reporting companies remain subject to it.

For KYB and AML work, the free SOS search returns an entity's status, business ID, registered agent, principal office, and the officers, directors, managers, or members named in its filings. South Dakota collects management data for corporations and LLCs alike in the annual report, so it is refreshed each year and kept current on the public record.

Official Registers

Secretary of State (Business Filing Search)

The SOS Business Services Division maintains the official register through its Business Filing Search. It records domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships.

Search and access. The Business Filing Search is free and needs no account. Search by entity name or business ID. Each record shows the entity name, business ID, type, status, registration date, registered agent name and address, principal office, and the officers, directors, managers, or members reported in the entity's filings.

Business ID. South Dakota assigns each entity a business ID at registration, which is the primary identifier across the register and the key most lookups run on.

Filings. Formation documents go in online through the SOS portal or by mail. Articles of Organization for a domestic LLC and Articles of Incorporation for a domestic corporation each cost $150 online, or $165 by mail. Nonprofit Articles of Incorporation cost $30.

Certificates. Certificates of Good Standing and certified copies of filed documents are available from the SOS for a fee.

Registration and Publication Requirements

Corporations

All domestic and foreign for-profit corporations must register with the SOS and maintain a registered agent at a South Dakota address.

Annual report. Corporations file an annual report, due by the first day of the anniversary month, at $55 online or $70 by mail. A late filing adds a $50 late fee. The report carries the principal office, the registered agent, and the names of the officers and directors, all of which become part of the public record.

Failing to file leads the SOS to administratively dissolve a domestic corporation or revoke a foreign corporation's authority to do business. The entity must then be reinstated to return to good standing.

Financial statements. There is no public financial disclosure requirement.

LLCs

All domestic and foreign LLCs must register with the SOS and maintain a registered agent in South Dakota. Domestic formation costs $150 online.

Annual report. LLCs file an annual report, due by the first day of the anniversary month, at $55 online or $70 by mail, with a $50 late fee for late filing. The report lists the managers or members and the registered agent, so LLC management data is part of the public record and refreshed each year.

Nonprofit corporations

Nonprofits file Articles of Incorporation with the SOS at $30 and file an annual report each year, due by the first day of the anniversary month, at $10. Unlike for-profit entities, nonprofits are exempt from the $50 late fee, though they must still file the report. Directors and officers appear on the public record. Federal 501(c) status comes from the IRS; the state filing does not grant it.

Limited partnerships and LLPs

Limited partnerships register with the SOS but are not required to file annual reports, and the same exemption applies to business trusts. Limited liability partnerships register and file with the SOS to stay in good standing. Because limited partnerships and business trusts file no annual report, their public record is not refreshed each year.

Sole proprietors and general partnerships

Sole proprietors and general partnerships do not register as entities with the SOS and do not appear as registered entities in the business search. A business operating under a name other than the owner's may register a trade name, which is held on file separately.

Summary table

With Topograph

Topograph queries South Dakota's Secretary of State system to return structured company data for entities registered in the state.

Available Data

Company Profile

• South Dakota business ID
• Entity name
• Entity type and state of formation
• Current status
• Registration date
• Registered agent name and address
• Principal office address

Officers and Management

• Officers and directors as reported in the corporation's annual report
• Managers and members as reported in the LLC's annual report

Available Documents

Financial statements aren't filed publicly in South Dakota. Domestic companies are also exempt from federal BOI reporting following the March 2025 FinCEN rule.

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